Controlling apparatus for submarine mines.



v 1:". BRCK. coNTRoLLINe APPARATUS ron SUBMARINB MINES.

APPLIOATION'IILED JULY 5,1910.

11,01 1,152. Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

MMM 1 -1 AITUHNEYS 40 7 f crred to, it is necessary to provide (l) that UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRITZ Baton, or OSNABRCK. GERMANY.

CONTROLLING APEARATUS FOR SUBMARINEMINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1911.

Application filed July 5, 1910. Serial'No. 570,268.

To all whom 'it may cof/wem:

y ,Be it known that I, Flrrz BRCK, engineer, subject of the King of Prussia, German Emperor, and residing at ()snabrck,` Germany, have invented a new and useful Im provement 1n Controlling Apparatus for Submarine Mines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to submarine mines of the class intended to be deposited or .planted by torpedol boats and other `boats adapted to such use.

Mines of this characg ter are used for' obstructing harbors, navigable streams and other water areas in times of-threatened or actual war. Y

My invention relates particularly to such mines of this' class as are provided with .an anchor adapted to rest uponmr attach to the sea' bottom and provided also with lmeans enabling theml (morelelxactly theirheads) to ascend from said-anchor, when` 'the mine', as

va whole, is cast into the water or planted,

untill a predetermined depth below the sur-k face ofthe water is attained, in which position the mine proper is checked and xedly held or clamped byl a suitable device so that it cannot ascend higher. Mines of this kind are commonly provided with alight cable,

windableupon a drum attached to the head of the mine, terminating in a heavy weight or anchor. Thehead is so constructed as to be lighterthan'the volume of water which it displaces so that it w'ill always tend to rise,

from any depth to which it may have been submerged, and float upon the surface of the lwater; by suitably determining the weight of the mine head the magnitude of the upwardly impelling torce may be fixed as de-` sired within wide limits.

'To operate mines of the class above rethe mine as a whole (head and anchor) shall sink to the bottom before thehead is revleasedfrom said anchor, so as vto rise therefrom; and while vthe mine is thus sinking the drum upon which is coiled the cord which unites head and anchor must be held immovable; (2) means which will prevent the head from ascending too rapidly through the water, so that it may not have too great `velocity at the moment whenit has reached the predetermined depth at Awhich it is to be permanently maintained, thus overshooting l. and unwinding too much cable; (3) means for clamping the cord and winding drum against further unwinding of said which comprises, essentially, a ybox .having an opening closed by a hydrostatic plate; \on the inside of this boX is a compression spring which tends to force the'plate away from the opening so as to 'release a second throws the clamping devices into position to ybecome effective. `At the sea bottom the hydrostatic pressure of the water is' suiiic-iently great to overpover this compression spring eeping the pleite pressed inwardlyand preventing its actuating the-clamp device proper through the second coiled spring referred to. As the head ascends, the hypredetermined depth below the water surcord and winding drum are clamped and the head held fast. In using this hydrostatic device, it is obviouslyf necessary to provide` Some-means by which the inward pressure upon the hydrostatic plate is maintained, and the compression spring prevented from acting, while the Vmine is 'descending from the deck of the boat from which Vit has been cast and until the hydrostatic pressure itself becomes eiiective.

controlling means whereby it is possible at one and the same time by the operation of a single device to rigidly unite 'head and anchor; to keep the hydrostatic plate pressed inwardly and the hydrostatic device as Aa Whole, therefore, ineffective; and to clamp the winding drum and hold it immovable; until the mine (combined head and anchor) has reached the sea bottom, and to then simultaneously disconnect the head and anchor, release the winding drum,..and allow the hydrostatic pressureto become the only force working against the compression spring which controls the hydrostatic plate.

coiled Vspring which then unwinds and face oi the water, is a hydrostatic device drostatic` pressure diminishes until, at the l fface, the compression spring is enabled to push the plate outwardly, upon which .then

The object of Amy invention is to provide controllingy mechanism; Fig. 3 is similar to Fig. 2, and embodies still another modification ofmy control mechanism; and Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the link used in Fig. 1 to connect the head and anchor.

In the drawings F is the mine head and G the anchor, the head being tapered and held in a frame P erected upon and attached to said' anchor. Beneath the head is a winding drum Q suitably journaled in bearings at.- tached to said head and having coiled upon it a cord D, .the end of which is attached to the anchor G.

At the side of the winding drum, and provided with an arm pivoted to the drum support at B, is a sector B having, `on its side away from the drum, an upwardly turned hook N provided with an oppositely extended arm N2 which lies normally in a horizontal position at xthe bottom of the sector (Figs. l, 2, and 3) and pivoted to the sector at N; the arc of this sector carries a plug. K and presses it inwardly, against the pressure of a circumferentially coiled spring M, so as to clamp drum Q. The hook N is held and prevented from rotating clockwise upon its pivot by means of a suitable soluble salt with which the space B2 between the arc of the sector and the pivot N" is lled.

Attached to and below the winding drum is the hydrostatic box T'at the opening of which is the hydrostatic plate C fixed to. a central spindle U; a spring H within the box tends to push this plate outwardly.

Upon the anchor proper is fixed means adapted to bear against the extremity of the spindle U and keep the plate C positioned inwardly and spring I-I compressed until after the mine has reached the bottom. In Fig. l this means takes the form of an abutment V provided with an upwardly extended. plane surface against which, when the head is in position, the spindle U will abut when at its extreme inward position. In this position, and when the connecting link A is also in place, it is obvious that the head F will be tightly held in and against the frame P. Spindle IT may be pushed in to its extreme inward p0- sition and all the last bit of play between head F and support P be eliminated by screwing down nut IV at the bottom of link A. Furthermore, owing to the inclination of the connecting link A, it is clear that any loosening between head F and anchor G which would permit of any increase in the distance between F and G, will result in pushing stein U still more forcibly against the abutment V, so that there is very little risk of the hydrostatic device T being put out of: adjustment and in operative position while the mine isin storage or upon the ships deck vbefore being cast into the water.

The upward Aturn of hook N together with the above referred to inclination of connecting linkA makes it impossible for said link A ,to accidentally slip oitsaid hook and sever the rigidconnection of head and anchor.

In Fig. 2 everything is the same as in Fig. l except that, in place of the solid abutment V, there is placed a bell-crank lever V having an upwardly extended arm lwhich abuts against the spindle U and a' laterally extended arm upon which is adapted to rest a screw W fixed at one end of a lever X thc other end of which is attached to the bottom of the connecting link A. By screwing IV down after the head has been placed-in position and link A placed over hook N, all play of plate C upon the hydrostatic box T may be eliminated.` The exact manner in which the sector controls the plug K isin this form alsolsomee what dierent from the arrangement hown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows an arrangement of the controlling devices in which is combined the arrangement used for the sector B in Fig. 1 with the lever V at thebottom of link A as employed in Fig. 2.'

In operation, the mine as a whole, compr-ising head and anchor, as shown in Fig. l is thrown into the water from the ships deck. Because of the greater weight of the anchor, the mine will sink in, anvupright position. After the anchor has reached theI sea bottom, the soluble salt in space B' which holds sector B in position is melted thus permitting the hook N to be rotated so as to free connecting link A and plug K. The head will immediately shoot upward and cord l) unwind upon the 'drum-Q. So soon as the spindle U has passed the top of abutment V or V as the case may be, the hydrostatic pressure will alone be effective to hold plate C in position, so that when the head has risen to its predetermined depth below the surface, the spring I-I is able to overpower said hydrostatic pressure and thus to actuate the plate C so as to operate the necessary clamp to check the drum and hold the cord D against further unwinding.

While I have described certain specific class described provided with .a head and an anchor as two elements; of a winding drum fixed to one of said elements; clamp ing means for 'said drum adapted to be released by the melting of a fuse and provided with a hook; a connecting link engaging said hook and joined to the remaining element; an abutment upon said last named element; and a hydrostatic box fixed to the winding drum and adapted to engagesaid abutment so as to be held in inoperative position; substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination with a mine of class described provided with a head and an anchor as two elements of a hydrostatic box for determining the length of the connecting cord between said elements; a releasable connecting link between said velements; an abutment adapted to engage -the hydrostatic box and hold it normally inop# erative; andmeans connected with said link for varying the pressure between said abutmen \and said hydrostatic box; substan-- tially\as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination, with a mine of the class described provided with a head and an anchor as two elements; of a winding drum fixed to\ one of said elements; clamping means fo" said drum; a`link connecting the said two elements; and soluble fuse means for releasing said clamping meansand for" releasing said link.

Ll. The combination, with a mine of the class described provided with a head and an anchor as two elements; of a winding drum fixed to one of said elements; clamping means for said drum; connecting means inthe cluding a link for holding said two elements together; and a soluble fuse for simultane ously releasing the aforesaid clamping means and the aforesaid connecting means.

5. The combination lwith a mine of the class described provided with a head, an anchor, a cableconnecting said head and said anchor, a winding drum for taking up said cable and a hydrostatic plate for clamping the winding drum and thus determining the 'free length of cable between said head and anchor, of means to simultaneously put the hydrostatic plate into inoperative position, lock the winding drum, and unite head and anchor independentlyV of said cable, substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. The combination with a mine of the 'class described provided with a head, an

witnesses.

f FRITZ B'RUCK. lVitnesses:

LUDWIG DRNER, ERNEST H. L. MUMMENHOFF. 

